The present invention relates to a hand truck and, more specifically, to a hand truck that is convertible to a cart having an elevated tabletop type of surface.
Many devices have been developed over the years to aid people in the movement and transportation of items that otherwise would be too heavy or unwieldy to move. There exist a multitude of powered devices such as cranes, forklifts, hydraulic ramps, etc. that simplify moving. A similar variety of non-powered devices also exist for people to choose from. Non-powered devices, such as pulleys, ropes, clamps, levers, and hand trucks, are commonly available to consumers. The ease of use of the contemporary hand truck makes it an ideal tool for transporting heavy objects and has led to the common use of hand trucks by tremendous numbers of people.
The wide utilization of hand trucks has caused many manufacturers to research improvements in the design of the modern hand truck. Today, industrial quality hand trucks are produced that have a frame made of thicker members and tougher materials to simplify transporting appliances and other items that are too large for smaller sized hand trucks. Additionally, hand trucks have been developed that are convertible into a cart to simplify the carrying of some objects. One disadvantage of the contemporary hand trucks which are convertible to carts, is the lack of a shelf that can be attached to the hand truck and that can be positioned as a tabletop surface like those commonly found on serving carts. The tabletop surface would be used to carry smaller, possibly more fragile, items than those transported by a typical hand truck. In an attempt to solve this problem, some hand trucks that are convertible to carts have separate shelf units that can be attached to that hand truck to create such a tabletop type of surface. However, the separate shelf units can be burdensome to remember to include when transporting their associated hand trucks. When the transportation of the appropriate separate shelf units is forgotten, an extra trip back to the respective storage location of the separate shelf units is necessary before being able to use the hand truck as a cart having a tabletop type of surface.
The present invention overcomes many of the drawbacks of the contemporary art by providing a hand truck with a movably attached plate that is capable of forming an elevated tabletop surface when the hand truck is being used as a cart. This allows the inventive hand truck to be stored and operated in a fashion similar to that of contemporary hand trucks and eliminates the need for the storage and transportation of separate shelf units. The sturdy construction of the hand truck of the present invention allows the hand truck to be serviceable under variety of conditions. The inventive hand truck uses simple and durable mechanisms thereby reducing the frequency of repairs and, accordingly, reducing the length of time to effectuate repairs once a mechanical problem develops.